Business and Management - U6UBSMGT

This module will introduce the use of computers and IT in business today - and in particular spreadsheet modelling - via a lab based assessment and a case study group report and presentation. 

This module provides students with an understanding and application of entrepreneurial concepts in real-world scenarios.

It is an applied module, wherein students will practice launching and running a complex new venture using a business simulation software (SimVenture Evolution).

Key topics include strategic decision making, market research, financial planning, evaluating performance, and managing startup growth.

This module surveys the evolution of the tourism industry, with particular attention to the challenge of sustainability. Starting with lectures on the history and sociology of tourism and its broader cultural significance, it will analyse trends in industry management and evaluate the various economic, social, cultural and environmental impacts of tourism. The concept of sustainability will be central to the module and applied in various contexts including accessibility and smart tourism.

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In today’s dynamic business environment, organisations, large or small, must develop the capability to anticipate and respond to external changes. These changes may represent opportunities or threats for companies. This module examines corporate entrepreneurship (CE) and explores how firms can balance innovation with sustainability to achieve long-term success.

You will gain a deep understanding of corporate entrepreneurship (CE) and how larger organisations can be designed to foster entrepreneurial, innovative, flexible and sustainable approaches. You will: 

• develop a comprehensive understanding of CE, its forms, and how it distinguishes from independent entrepreneurship

• analyse the conditions, organisational processes, and barriers that influence the successful implementation of CE in larger firms

• critically evaluate the relationship between corporate entrepreneurship, innovation management, and long-term organisational outcomes

The aim of the module is to introduce you to the economic view of firms, highlighting the implications for firms' decisions in closed and open economies.

The module intends to cover topics such as agency theory, transaction cost economics, integration, and organisational and institutional aspects of international business and their impacts.

This module covers:

• service work definition and context
• different theoretical perspectives on the nature of service work and service management
• health care
• emotional labour
• distinctive HRM practices in service work

The module looks at theories of HRM, recruitment and selection, reward, training and development, performance appraisal and broader contextual issues.

Topic covered include:

• environment
• theory of multinational enterprises
• entry strategies
• international leadership
• operating in international markets

Develop your understanding of entrepreneurship in an international context. Through a critical and broad-ranging social science approach, you will gain analyse international entrepreneurship within the context of a wide range of management, organisation studies and social science debates. 

You will explore both the conceptual aspects of international entrepreneurship as well as practical elements in order to equip you with a valid grounding of both theory and practice. Topics covered include:

• knowledge and understanding of the development, access and operation of global markets for resources, goods and services among students

• barriers and enablers to entrepreneurship for diverse and underrepresented groups across different countries

• policies and support mechanisms that promote inclusive entrepreneurship internationally

• tools and frameworks to develop inclusive entrepreneurial initiatives across borders

The module incorporates an inclusive perspective, using case studies and real-world examples of atypical international entrepreneurship activity by under-represented entrepreneurs. When exploring opportunities and barriers to international entrepreneurship, we also explore how certain social groups and individuals in developing country contexts may experience intersecting disadvantages that compound the challenges faced.

This module develops an understanding of when and how different approaches, models and methods are used in management decision-making. Areas covered include: optimisation models and methods, project management methods, queuing systems and simulation, sequencing and scheduling. 

The module examines the particular management and marketing issues affecting the tourism sector, using both relevant theoretical frameworks and applied cases from a range of different countries. The module covers topics such as:

• the importance of tourism to the global economy
• services marketing and management principles and the specific characteristics of tourism in the service economy
• tourist consumer behaviour, including latest trends in travel patterns
• strategic marketing tools for tourism
• managing service quality and delivery in tourism
• destination management and marketing, imagery and branding
• tourism product development, marketing communications and pricing
• ICTs, channel strategies and e-tourism marketing
• mobile and social media marketing in tourism
• crisis management and scenario planning

This module will include topics that will help students to appreciate the growing importance of services, and understand the operations function in service industries. This module aims to illustrate the growing importance of services in today's economy and provide an appreciation of the issues involved in managing the operations function of service organisations.  

In this module you will explore the role of data, information systems and metrics in marketing practice. The module covers the types of marketing data, the sources of marketing data, and the uses of marketing data. It explores contextual issues including the role of information systems and infrastructures, organisational decision making, and ethics and regulation of marketing data. 

This module is designed to focus on the strategic and operational aspects of marketing management. It will examine:

• understanding the marketing concept
• the role of marketing within business and its contribution to business performance and enhancing value
• developing marketing strategy
• segmentation, targeting and positioning
• managing the marketing mix
• planning and implementation

This module examines the strategic importance of manufacturing and service operations, and the key links between operations and other functional strategies.

The module explores the importance of a properly formulated and explicit operations strategy to ensure the development of a successful business.

The module discusses the interdependence of policies for capacity, technology, supply networks, development and organisation.

Logistics and supply chain management (LSCM) principles lie at the heart of modern-day business operations. In this module, you will be introduced to the fundamentals of LSCM.

You’ll gain knowledge and understanding of: 

• the dynamic and changing nature of business and the consideration of the future of organisations within the global business environment

• the development, access and operation of markets for resources, goods and services 

• the role of LSCM strategies in enhancing a business' competitive advantage

• the dynamics of relationships among business partners in delivering exceptional customer satisfaction 

• the management of customer expectations and relationships

• the management of outsourcing 

• the management of digital technologies and their impact upon organisations

• the intricacies of international supply chain networks and transportation 

• the application of lean and digital supply chain in the VUCA environment (volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity)

• the need for individuals and organisations to manage responsibly and sustainably, in relation to social, cultural, economic and environmental issues 

You will develop your commercial acumen, critical thinking and ability to analyse facts and circumstances, determine the cause of a problem and select appropriate solutions. You’ll also improve your ability to analyse and evaluate a range of business data, sources of information and appropriate methodologies. 

Much economic and business behaviour deviates from the traditional views of rationality - for example, utility and profit maximisation. This module provides an overview of alternative views of decision making from behavioural economics and the economic psychology of individual choice.

The focus is both on new methods of economic enquiry and the insights they have generated into economic and business decision making. These new approaches include: experimental and cognitive economics; neuroeconomics; economics of emotions and happiness; behavioural finance; cultural economics; social preferences and evolutionary psychology.

This module will foster your understanding of the process by which business organisations make effective use of labour, and the policies they employ to this effect. Topics covered include:

• employees' incentives in organisations
• the hiring process
• training and labour turnover
• employee pay and performance
• trade unions
• employment relations

This module explores the nature of work and society. It will look at the development of our understanding of work and society. The development of the industrial and the post-industrial society will be explored and its impact on the nature of work, organisation and management.

There will be a historical and critical review of the schools of thought and key writers. Examples of research into individual and group experiences of work, organisation and management will be discussed.

This module examines the responsibilities of business to respect human rights while contributing to sustainable development. Students are introduced to the main concepts and standards underpinning the business and human rights movement, as well as to the theories related to sustainable development and sustainability. The module enables students to apply these to real life business situations and dilemmas. '

Put your business research and project management skills to practice as you work on a real-world business project. You will conduct research on a real-world business problem and, with the skills learned throughout your course, use relevant data collection and analytical methods to propose solutions.

This module is an opportunity for you to work largely independently and in depth on a subject of your choice to be approved by staff from the Business School. 

This module introduces and develops frameworks which enable businesses to understand the buying behaviour of consumers.

This module introduces you to key contemporary debates and practices, giving you a chance to engage with these debates and practices. You will gain an understanding of the human resource management approaches managers take as you grapple with the challenges of the global economy and a demanding and diverse workforce within an international context.

This module examines the antecedents and consequences of corporate restructuring. Factors triggering corporate restructuring are considered in a number of alternative organisational settings. In particular, the role of corporate governance in inducing and shaping corporate restructuring receives special attention (in particular, executive compensation and the market for corporate control).

The process of restructuring is discussed against a background of resource-based, agency and behavioural theories of the firm. The impact of corporate restructuring on the size, complexity, incentive systems and ownership structure of large firms is examined. Finally, the evidence relating to the effects of corporate restructuring on performance, employment, R&D and corporate governance is examined.

The module includes lecture content to consider the background, need for, and potential of ‘entrepreneurship for social change’. This includes reviewing

• the fundamentals of the business and society relationship
• the emergence and potential of social and environmental entrepreneurship
• the organisational forms where entrepreneurship for social changes takes place, for example, Cooperatives, Charitable Foundations, Social Enterprises, B-Corps
• the ecosystem that supports entrepreneurship for social change, for example, social venture capitalists, institutions, networks

Further, the module introduces a series of concepts and engages you in using practice tools/ frameworks for entrepreneurship for social change, at times these will be anchored by the UN’s SDGs.

This module provides an introduction to the insights into the law and legal processes which have arisen from the application of economic analysis. It covers topics including the economics of corporate law, contract law, criminal law and litigation. It also explores competitive and non-competitive markets.

The module examines the particular management and marketing issues affecting the tourism sector, using both relevant theoretical frameworks and applied cases from a range of different countries. It will cover topics such as: the importance of tourism to the global economy;  tourist consumer behaviour, destination management and marketing, imagery and branding; tourism product development, channel strategies and e-tourism marketing; mobile and social media marketing in tourism.

This module covers:

• social, political, and legal context of managing diversity
• concepts used in diversity management, including equality and inclusion
• stereotyping and unconscious bias
• intersectional approaches to understanding inequalities
• business case approaches and their limits
• organisational practices and interventions in diversity management
• trade unions and diversity

This module provides a broad-based introduction to the theory and practice of using computer and communication systems to solve problems in organisations.

The module is designed to provide the theoretical knowledge and technology-based insights needed in order to manage effective problem solving with information technologies and systems (IT&S), and to extract the most value from an actual or potential application of IT&S.

Specific domains include the strategic management of IT&S; the development, implementation and use of IT&S; the impacts of specific IT&S on organisational forms and activities.

An overview of marketing and society, macro-marketing issues, responsible and sustainable marketing, consumer response to marketing activities, marketing's impact on society and consumption.

The ability to develop and manage new product and services is crucial for the long-term survival of the firm and lies at the heart of the marketing concept. This module is designed to develop an appreciation of the latest theory and practice in the management and development of new products and services.

This module aims to develop an understanding of new product and service development (NPSD) as a strategic process and will explore and apply a variety of approaches to its management. In particular it pays attention to the role of market research/marketing analytics, and new approaches to using the Internet and social media. The NPSD process models will be evaluated and this will include critiques of the ideation process/creativity, design, new product launch management and marketing communication strategies.

In addition, contemporary themes around user innovation, co-creation, sustainability and international NPSD will be explored.

This module develops a knowledge and understanding of areas including the changing nature of business and the consideration of the future of organisations within the global business environment; the need for individuals and organisations to manage responsibly and sustainably and behave ethically in relation to social, cultural, economic and environmental issues; the design, development of organisations, including cross-cultural issues, change, diversity and values.

This module provides an understanding of the factors which influence a company's choice of location, and of how to approach the design of layouts to support a company's strategic objectives and maximise the efficiency of its operations.

Enhance your employability with a portfolio showcasing  the competences that you will have developed throughout your course. Through a competency-based lens, you will critically reflect on your strengths and weaknesses and through this, develop a personal continuous professional development (CPD) plan to help you identify future opportunities for further development and growth.

This module covers:

• introduction to purchasing - its importance, role and impact in organisations
• strategic sourcing decisions and approaches
• the stages of a typical purchasing process and introduction to various tools buyers use
• internal organisation of the purchasing function such as centralisation vs decentralisation
• supplier evaluation and selection issues, total cost of ownership (TCO) and quotation analysis
• portfolio and segmentation approaches to supplier management
• incentives and behavioural issues in managing suppliers
• negotiations
• special issues in purchasing: service sourcing and public procurement
• industrial case studies

This module introduces you to key strategy and innovation concepts and tools which are relevant to dynamic markets in which there is rapid change in knowledge and skills, technologies, products, and services. Topics covered include:

• creating and sustaining competitive advantage in dynamic markets
• dynamic capabilities
• first and second mover advantages in innovation
• industry life cycles
• new product development and technology lock-ins
• innovation in services (public and private sector)

This module will introduce you to:

• supply chain fundamentals, including: the supply chain planning processes and the need for them
• planning processes and methods, including: forecasting; aggregate planning; MRP; capacity management; theory of constraints (TOC); JIT (kanban); inventory management
• IS/IT support for planning including ERP systems
• planning through the supply chain, examining the challenges in different contexts through case studies

This module aims to provide you with the skills, knowledge and practical experience required to respond to the challenges involved in managing, commercialising and marketing technological innovation and new business development. You will:

• critically analyse the roles played by entrepreneurship and innovation in society, the economy and other domains

• evaluate the impacts of entrepreneurship and innovation in society, the economy and other domains